StarAstrologer - Books : Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 210
EAN: 9780143038337
ISBN: 0143038338
Label: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 464
Publication Date: February 06, 2007
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Sales Rank: 8804
Studio: Penguin (Non-Classics)
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
For all the thousands of books that have been written about religion, few until this one have attempted to examine it scientifically: to ask why—and how—it has shaped so many lives so strongly. Is religion a product of blind evolutionary instinct or rational choice? Is it truly the best way to live a moral life? Ranging through biology, history, and psychology, Daniel C. Dennett charts religion’s evolution from "wild" folk belief to "domesticated" dogma. Not an antireligious screed but an unblinking look beneath the veil of orthodoxy, Breaking the Spell will be read and debated by believers and skeptics alike.
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
This is the first book that I have read by Mr. Dennett and let me say at the outset that I am thankful that there are authors like him that are willing to take the time to "circle" a subject and view it from several different scientific, sociological and anthropological perspectives. This book is not a harsh criticism of religion but an attempt, as I understand it, to foster a dialogue in order to determine what policies, if any, should be carried out in the future to curb potential threats ... Read More
Rating:  -
This is a superb book about religion from Dennett, who has attained a renown as a philosopher of mind and cognitive science. He brings the tools from those disciplines to the subject of religion; in particular, he makes use of the concept of the "intentional stance" that we naturally take towards objects, both animate and inanimate. Dennett's book is a part of the very recent trend to scrutinize religion by conceptual tools taken from cognitive psychology, anthropology and evolutionary biology ... Read More
Rating:  -
Dennett talks up science here but there is little evidence that cognitive psychology provides a basis for a scientific investigation of religion. Cognitive psychology (as opposed to cognitive neuroscience) has no stable results as of yet but the program Dennett advocates depends upon cognitive psychology providing a basis for theologically orientated research. Questioning the obscure via the obscure is hardly enlightening. Science here is used as an incantation rather than as providing a basis for ... Read More
Rating: -
Professor Daniel C. Dennett is an international philosopher worthy of His Holiness, Benedict XVI dictum, "the philosopher was someone who knew how to teach the essential art: the art of being authentically human---the art of living and dying." [Encyclical Letter, SPE SALVI facti sumus ("In Hope we were saved", St. Paul, Romans 8:24)]
Previous reviewers have drawn attention to Professor Dennett's intentions, scope and achievements, what I want to do is start the process of treating 'religion' ... Read More
Rating: -
You don't have to be an atheist, an agnostic, or any type of believer to engage this book. That's the whole point, in fact. No matter what your belief (and they are all related to belief), subjecting it to scientific scrutiny can be fascinating and revealing, and especially so with this type of academic yet extremely accessible writing.
A beautiful combination of serious purpose and playful joy in the arguments comes through here, and it's infectious. What does NOT come through is any kind ... Read More
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